It
can be great fun buying gifts for babies and toddlers. The sheer
quantity of toys and games available for this age group can be
daunting enough to take the fun out of it, however. When it comes
to toys and software, any parent will agree that there are wiser
choices than others--toys that entertain and educate at the same
time are ideal. Plenty of products are available that are exciting
enough to give as gifts, yet still manage to encourage budding skills.
Often, though, some of the best gifts are toys
that inspire imagination and pretend play. So, while electronic
teaching aids can be fantastic, basic building blocks and wooden
puzzles are priceless.
We've included topnotch software, toys, videos, and
audio products that little children will love receiving, and adults will love
giving.

Toys

Top
Pick Sorting shapes is a pleasurable activity for
babies and toddlers. While there are many shape sorter toys
on the market--both of the plastic and wooden variety--none
are quite as satisfying and multi-faceted as this one. With the Secret Sorter,
pleasing wooden shapes fit into a cloth bag in the matching
slots. The cloth bag acts as a place to store the blocks,
but it can also be used in a game of "guess the
shape" in which toddlers feel a wooden shape without
seeing it. The bag is reversible, allowing the shapes to be
sorted by color as well. [Buy Secret Sorter
at Amazon.com for
approximately $17 US]

Music Blocks has
been on the market for a couple of years now. Though its
price remains a little too high, it continues to impress
us and any child (and parent) who come in contact with it.
Toddlers compose music by arranging--and
rearranging--colorful blocks in the electronic toy's base.
The included cartridge allows each of the musical blocks to
"play" a musical phrase of a Mozart melody.
Placing a block on the base on its different sides produces
different instruments that play the same musical phrase.
Experimenting with different musical phrases and various
arrangements (including violin, voice, woodwinds, and more)
is a lot of fun, especially when the music sounds so rich. Though marketed towards kids ages 2-7,
kids as young as 1 (with supervision) will find this toy
engaging. Other cartridges are available, but be aware that
they, too, are expensive. [Buy Music Blocks Composerat Amazon.com]

Geometric Shapes Jumbo Knob
Puzzle is a basic wooden puzzle that helps toddlers
recognize basic shapes and colors. The see-inside puzzle
helps children associate these shapes with things in the
real world, and the large knobs on each puzzle piece makes
the puzzle easy for the littlest of learners to master.
While not as multidimensional as the Secret Sorter mentioned
above, this puzzle is nonetheless worthwhile. [Buy Geometric Shapes Jumbo Knob Puzzle
at Amazon.com for
approximately $20 US]

Sure-to-Please
Software
Games

Top Pick If your toddler hasn't yet had the pleasure to
learn to use the computer mouse with the excellent Reader
Rabbit Toddler, Reader
Rabbit Toddler 2002 makes a perfect gift. Reader
Rabbit Toddler is our favorite first software
program--"first" in the sense that it is
specifically designed to teach a young child to maneuver a
mouse. [Buy Reader Rabbit Toddler 2002
at Amazon.com for approximately $20-25 US]

Another way to get the
excellent Reader Rabbit Toddler (an earlier version
that is still excellent)
is by purchasing Fun &
Skills Pack Toddler 2.0. Toddlers and young preschoolers will enjoy this bundle of 4 software
programs. Besides the classic toddler title, another notable title in the package is Dr. Seuss ABC,
though toddlers will need help with this one. Also included
is Poky Little Puppy and the free-play creativity
title, Crayola Magic 3D Coloring. [Buy Fun
& Skills Pack Toddler 2.0at Amazon.com for
approximately $20 US]

Videos

While videos for babies
were unthinkable not too long ago, all that has changed. A
flood of baby videos have entered the scene, and they are
now very much a reality. When used sparingly, these
developmental videos can be very useful.

Top
Pick Some of our favorite
baby/toddler videos come from the Baby Einstein series.
While the whole line is worthwhile, a few stand out. Baby
Shakespeare, for example, features poems and rhymes and a
myriad of other early learning concepts. Baby Van Gogh
introduces children to the wonderful world of color and art. Baby
Dolittle: Neighborhood Animals features familiar animals and
their antics. Each video in the series features classical
music excerpts, parades of toys, live-action scenes, and
stimulating sights and sounds. Humor and surprises are
sprinkled throughout. The variety in presentation
of early learning concepts is impressive. [Buy Baby Van Gogh, Baby Shakespeare, Baby Dolittle - Neighborhood Animalsat
Amazon.com]

Notable videos for this age
group include the Bilingual Baby series (see our full
review); So Smart! titles, which are artistic but
low-key and best suited to patient children; and the Baby
Songs series that will grow with your child all the way
to Kindergarten! The latest Baby Songs title, Baby Songs:
Silly Songs, is great fun. Children love this series
that basically strings together live-action music videos
with short animated clips that introduce each new song. Hap
Palmer's songs are wholesome and gentle, but always manage
to get kids involved. [Buy Baby Songs - Silly Songs,
So Smart - Triplets
at Amazon.com]

Magazine
Subscription, Just for Toddlers

Top
PickWild
Animal Baby magazine, from the National Wildlife
Federation, is in reality not a magazine--it's a board book
that acts like a magazine. When you subscribe, you get 10
board books in the mail per year. The content is fabulous--besides
gorgeous photos of animals in the wild, there are
finger-play
activities, simple stories with gorgeous full-color illustrations, and more. All of these feature a nature theme
that toddlers (and their caregivers) will thoroughly enjoy.
Each book contains 24 advertisement-free pages. Best yet, a
new high-quality book arrives 10 times a year. [Sign up for a
subscription to Wild Animal Baby magazine at Amazon.com
for approximately $20 US/year]